Leverage: The Downtime Job
by Gilbert H. Karr
Summary: Some last minute downtime sends Eliot on a camping trip to Crater Lake, but some unexpected guests and an emergency rescue could land him in hot water with his military contacts.


**A/N: This piece is set sometime in season 5, when the team is still together and working out of Portland Oregon. This first chapter was a gift for farkenshnoffingottom, written as part of the Leverage Secret Santa Exchange from A03. It will probably eventually be continued as a longer story (not sure how much longer, but longer), but for now is posted as complete. **

**Warning: not serious reference to spanking.**

**This is set at Crater Lake in Oregon. Though I have been to Oregon, I haven't been to Crater Lake, and wrote it relying on a discussion with a friend who is a native Oregonian. Mistakes are mine. This story is partially based on true events.**

**I don't own Leverage or any of the associated characters. These are property of Dean Devlin, John Rodgers, Electric Entertainment, and TNT et al. I write for fun and not for profit. I don't write slash. I hope you enjoy. **

Eliot was driving his Charger on the Pacific Coast Highway, planning to camp at Crater Lake. In the back of his mind, he had considered that the truck might be a more prudent option, as it would go off road more easily, but in the end, the Charger won out. In the first place, he had driven the Charger to work this morning, so when they all returned from a string of jobs, exhausted, and Nate told them to take a week off, his Charger was what waited for him in the parking lot. Habits he had picked up during his military training meant that he had everything he needed for an impromptu camping trip in the car with him. He would need more food, and some extra fuel for his lantern, but those were easy enough to get, if he went to the right place. In the second place, driving a sports car was what made driving on the Pacific Coast Highway so much fun. Besides, Eliot was a man whose past made it prudent for him to make himself hard to find, so camping for him generally meant parking in a lot and hiking in to…somewhere remote.

Being hard to find was actually part of the reason he owned a Charger, as opposed to something more flashy, and it was also partially the reason that he chose to camp in places like Crater Lake. It was public enough to seem like a random choice, and remote enough not to draw too much attention if anyone was looking for him near the team's headquarters. Hardison would have told him he was being paranoid again, but with the things he had done in his past, there was no such thing as paranoia.

He was still in a contemplative mood when he pulled into the parking lot of Crater Lake National Park. It was very early in the morning, so he would catch a few hours of sleep in his car, and set out to find his campsite at daybreak.

(0o0)

Eliot reached his campsite about mid-day, and spent the next few hours setting up camp. He built a small lean to between some trees, taking care to disguise it from potentially prying eyes. He used the tarp on the inside to make it waterproof. Afterwards, he gathered a fairly large pile of firewood, and built a fire. He set up his supplies so they were within easy reach. Then, he went fishing.

An hour later, the sun was setting as Eliot hiked back to his campsite, with the fish he had caught on a stringer. There were three, two smaller bream and a large striped trout. As he walked back, he gathered wild dill and a few wild onions to season them. Eliot was shocked at how cold it had gotten since the sun had set. He ducked inside the lean to to get the extra shirt he had brought, then by the light of his lantern, he expertly filleted the fish, and then cooked them. As he was eating, he heard a rustling noise in the woods. Instantly on the alert, he set down his plate and peered out of his lean-to shelter.

Something large came crashing through the trees, and he caught sight of it on the trail that led to his campsite. The creature stumbled on down the mountain, thrashing unsteadily through the underbrush, off the trail itself. Something about the way the creature moved seemed almost human. Eliot had the fleeting thought that he was crazy, but he knew he had to know. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if someone was in trouble and he didn't help. Besides that, he knew they would freeze by morning, if they were exposed to the elements overnight. He reached down and checked the knife in his boot, knowing that if he did find an animal in distress, he might need to end its suffering.

Eliot quickly followed the creature where he saw it disappear. Not wanting to spook the creature, he couldn't turn on the small penlight he carried with him, and couldn't see more than a dark shadowy outline on the trail ahead, so he had to stop periodically and listen to get a bead on the thing's location. Finally, he heard a crash and then silence. He sped up, jogging as fast as possible without being heard, through the underbrush, looking and seeing nothing. Fishing in his pocket, he withdrew a penlight, and turned it on. Shining it all around in front of him, he saw nothing. As he was inching forward, looking for the creature, his foot caught on something and he nearly tripped. He fought to catch his balance, and when he felt stable, he shone the light straight down below him to see what he tripped over, and found a large bundle of something. Looking carefully, he finally found a hard, round object, completely covered in cloth, that could only be a head, and determined that the 'creature' was a human being. He couldn't tell anything else about them because of the darkness and the way they were covered in cloth, not to mention the position they had landed in.

Speaking softly, he said, "Are you all right?"

There was no answer. Concerned that the person might be unconscious and injured, Eliot gently turned the bundle over, and as he did so, the person began to stir. After a moment, the bundle sat up and fought to untangle themselves from the clothing they were wrapped in. Eliot shone his flashlight on them.

"Hardison?" He asked. "Damn it, man. What are you doing here?"

"E-E-Eliot?" He asked, rubbing his hands together and blowing on them.

Eliot nodded and shone the light up and down his body from head to foot, looking for visible injuries. "Are you injured?"

"Just cold."

"Come on." With an arm around his friend's neck, Eliot led him back down the trail to his campsite, and sat him down in front of the fire. Reaching into his lean-to, he pulled a tin cup out of his bag and poured something from the kettle nestled in the embers into it and handed it to Hardison. Hardison cradled it in his hands. Meanwhile, Eliot pulled out the lantern and turned it up on high, so he could see the other man properly. He also threw another shirt at him, and a pair of thermal underwear bottoms. He worked on stoking the fire and adding more wood, while he gave Hardison a chance to add the extra clothing to his ensemble for warmth.

"Parker with you?" He asked casually.

Hardison shook his head and then said, "She's safe and warm."

"Are you hungry?"

"Yes."

Eliot gave him some of the fish he had cooked, then sat down across from him with another cup of his own. Now that the tasks were done and he was sure Hardison was okay, he was angry and he wanted answers. Eyes flashing, he said, "You never did answer my question."

"What?"

"What are you doing out here, crashing through the woods like a wounded animal, at night?"

"We had reservations to stay at the lodge for the next three nights. There was a last minute cancellation, and anyway, Parker wanted to go for a drive up to Rim Valley, to the overlook, and then it started to snow while we were there and the rangers closed the road before we could get back to our car. We couldn't drive out. So, she stayed in the car with the motor running and I came down to find the ranger station to see if they could help us get out. Only the batteries froze in my flashlight and I lost the trail."

Eliot's voice was quiet, and deadly. "Do you have any idea what could have happened to you out here at night?"

He walked back into the lean-to, muttering to himself. He emerged a moment later with a phone. Before he could speak, Hardison said, "I tried to call before I left the car—there's no cell service here."

"Satellite phone," Eliot said, dialing as he spoke. "Stay here." With that, he walked a bit further up the trail near the place he was camping, until he found a satellite uplink to pick up the call.

"Hello. Yes, this is Lone Wolf 62774, and I am engaged in a potential medical emergency. Patch me through to the Crater Lake Ranger Station—north side."

A moment later a voice came back.

"Ranger Station."

"Listen carefully. My name is Dr. Wes Abernathy. I'm camping at Crater Lake for the weekend. I am contacting you regarding a potential medical emergency at one of the overlooks near Rim Valley Road. Civilian passenger vehicle caught in sudden snow, Road closed before they could drive out. Passenger still in vehicle."

He listened for a moment and then said, "The driver? The driver's with me."

He was silent for a moment longer, listening, and then spoke again. "We'll meet you at the Crater Lake Lodge. In about an hour? Okay. Thank you."

Eliot hung up the phone and walked back to his campsite, where Hardison waited for him.

"Let's go."

"Where?"

"To the Lodge. The Rangers will meet us there with Parker, and they're gonna want to talk to you."

"About what?"

Eliot gave him his best 'Are you serious' look and said, "Most people know not to drive on Rim Valley road when the forecast calls for snow. People are now having to put their own safety on the line to rescue Parker because you two didn't get out fast enough. What did you think they would want to talk about?"

Hardison noted the tinge of annoyance in the last part of that sentence, and winced. Ordinarily, Eliot was annoyed often enough that it wouldn't have bothered him, but he felt a bit guilty for all of the trouble they had caused, and so, the annoyance felt justified this time. He was even kind of annoyed with himself for not knowing better.

"Hey man, it's not my fault the Rangers closed the road before we could get out. I can't control the snow."

By this time, Eliot was full on in the mode of "doing that thing with his eyes that scared people" and Hardison deflated and fell silent. He trailed silently behind Eliot as he put out their fire, and packed all of the equipment he brought with him back into his pack to hike it back out. He didn't know if he would be back out at his campsite tonight or not, so it was best not to leave stuff there. He did leave the lean-to, empty, buried the fish bones, and put out the fire. He started stalking back down the trail, toward the lodge, holding his lantern up in front of him to light the way. Hardison could have sworn he felt waves of anger rolling off of Eliot, and suddenly, he felt the need to say something, anything, to try to explain.

"I guess we caused a lot of trouble."

"Ya think?"

"It's just—the woods aren't my thing. You know that. Everyone knows that. But Parker—she wanted to take a trip for the weekend—somewhere she could practice her jumps. She wanted an adventure. To go to that lake that lies in a crater and then, she wanted to go up to the rim, and then it started snowing and, and—"

"Hardison!" Eliot said, growling just enough to cut through the nervous chatter. Sometimes it was fun to mess with the younger man, but when he started to chatter like this, he was really worried, and when he was worried, it wasn't fun anymore.

Hardison fell silent at Eliot's growl, and continued following him down the trail. After a moment, Eliot said, "Look, just tell the Rangers what you told me. You don't camp, so you didn't know. They'll be annoyed, and they may lecture you a little bit, make sure you know better next time, but I think that'll be the end of it."

After a few minutes, the lodge came into sight in front of them. Somewhat nervously, Hardison stopped just outside the door. Eliot squeezed his shoulder. As he did so, he saw Vance standing in a corner of the room, talking to one of the Park Rangers.

"Come on. Might as well get this over with." With that, Hardison and Eliot stepped inside together, and Hardison stepped up to speak to the Rangers gathered there, while Eliot moved over next to Vance.

Vance stared at Eliot with a look of sudden understanding on his face.

Eliot said, "Colonel, what are you doing here?"

"I'm trying to figure out why a Doctor Wes Abernathy made a call to the North Side Ranger station from your phone, resulting in an unauthorized use of the emergency system."

"Medical emergency. Civilian vehicle trapped in the snow, passenger still inside." Eliot dropped his voice and whispered, "Can I talk to you?"

Without answering, Vance turned sharply on his heel and stalked off. Eliot followed. Opening the front door of the lodge, he held it for Eliot, and the two made their way outside. When they reached the relative privacy of the front porch, Vance turned abruptly to Eliot and said, "Explain."

Eliot did so, and then looked at Vance, "What should I expect?"

"Nothing from me—there was a medical emergency and you are trained as a medic, which requires you to respond whether it is a civilian or military emergency, but there's a reason that the use of the emergency system is restricted. I've never been a stickler for obeying regulations over doing what is right, but it isn't me to whom you would have to answer. What do you suppose the council would say if they were to catch wind of this?"

Eliot didn't want to think about that. "Is there any way to keep them from finding out?"

Vance shook his head. "They took over oversight of the emergency system last year. Contrary to popular belief, I don't control every aspect of military operations, and the council isn't even technically military. There's nothing I can do. You just better hope that nobody is checking tonight."

"Well, that's just great," said Eliot.

"Let me know how it turns out," Vance said, as he made his way to his truck.

(0o0)

An hour later, Hardison and Parker were parked on the bed in their room at the lodge. Eliot was taking it in turns to stand with his back to the room, looking out the window, and pacing back and forth in the small space the room allowed. He hadn't spoken a word since the Rangers released them. Parker had tried almost everything to get him to talk, and had either been met with a growl or with stony silence. Finally, in frustration, she asked, "What's it going to take to get you to talk to us?"

Eliot muttered something under his breath that neither of them could hear. Parker, unaffected, asked, "What was that?"

"I said I ought to put you both over my knee."

Parker's eyes lit up, and a wicked grin crossed her face. "Really?"

"Don't tempt me."

She grew serious. "And we'll do whatever we have to do to make this up to you."

"Seriously, man, I'm sorry this played out the way it did. I saw you talking to that military guy. I hope the phone call you made to the Ranger station didn't cause you too much trouble."

"Probably nothing I can't handle, though it might take a bit of finesse." He studied the two of them for a moment, and then said, "I need to know this won't happen again."

"It won't," they said together.

"Convince me."

"I won't ask Hardison to go jumping in the mountains, in the winter."

"And I'll check the weather before I agree to go for a drive. If there's a question, we won't go."

"All right. Thank you. You two get some sleep tonight. You're camping with me tomorrow." Seeing the looks on their faces, he said, "Didn't Parker just say that you would both do whatever you had to do to make this up to me? I'm gonna make sure this doesn't happen again by making sure you know how to survive in the woods."

With those words, he walked to the closet, grabbed a blanket, and settled himself on the sofa. Moments later, the lights went out.

(0o0)

Eliot woke to sunlight streaming through the window of his bedroom. It took him a moment to realize where he was, and to stop looking for Hardison and Parker. The dream was so vivid. He glanced at the clock and saw that it was later than he had slept in a long time. For once he had managed more than his ninety minutes a day. When he got up to cook breakfast, his penlight fell out of his pocket. He picked it up, studying it carefully, trying to figure out why it was there. Shaking his head, he moved off to the kitchen to cook his breakfast.


End file.
